Paid $16k for a rotting frame. Pics inside. Should I contact dealer?

[rusty06]

Hi everyone,
New member here. I recently purchased an '06 4th gen SR5 with 83k on the ODo. I made the grave and unbelievably stupid mistake of not taking a look at the undercarriage during my purchase. I bought from a large and well respected Toyota dealer in my area, and the used car guy was talking a big game about how anything they think will have major issues goes straight to auction and they don't try to pawn it off on customers, etc, etc and gave me a list of the repairs they did. I picked the truck up 2 days later and took a look underneath it. There was A LOT of surface rust with significant flaking in the welds and other areas.

Album: Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum - rusty06's Album: 06 SR5



Basically I'm wondering three things.

1. Did I get completely ripped off?

2. How serious or abnormal is the rust for the northeast region. Is this just surface rust or is it beginning to rot? I used to own an 09 tacoma with 120k on it and frame wear was not nearly this bad.

3. Should I contact the dealer and try to get some type of reimbursement? I bought the truck one week ago, and am past any money back guarantee. I want to know if this is serious enough to complain or if I'll likely just have to deal with this and coat it with POR15 or rust bullet or something.

I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who will say if this was them they'd be in the dealer demanding their money back yesterday. I like this truck, and I like the way it drives. I know I probably paid too much. I'm just wondering if I should realistically be making a big stink about this to the salesman and what's likely to be done if I do.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Davy180]

Unfortunately I don't think there is much you can do about it now since it's already been a week. That has low miles, seems like you got it for a decent price and now we know why. I don't know if there is much you can do to slow down the process or clean up the damage already done.

Good luck!

 

[rusty06]

Unfortunately I don't think there is much you can do about it now since it's already been a week. That has low miles, seems like you got it for a decent price and now we know why. I don't know if there is much you can do to slow down the process or clean up the damage already done.

Good luck!

Yeah...now I know why service didn't want to pull off the running boards for me...

Would you really say this is low miles and low price? What do you think a cleaner one of these with these miles would go for? I know these trucks hold value on the other hand it's almost 10yrs old.

I guess I would have preferred to pay a few thousand more for something cleaner. Should have done my homework.

 

[Davy180]

I think that is low miles, it averaged around 8500 miles a year. I bought my 06 5 months ago with 100k on it.

Is it 4WD?

I think that is pretty good price, I know 4runners here in California have a huge mark up. Last month a saw an 07 sport 2wd with 95k miles selling at the dealer for $18.9k which I thought was crazy. It was pretty clean but I paid a lot less for mine and it is a year older, had 5K more miles but was 4WD.

 

[2014 Warthog]

Not an expert... but I'd say that that isn't dire (With the exception of the front skid plate), however it is at exactly that point where you MUST do something to stop it right now or it won't be too long before it is a real problem.

Would either be a major amount of do it yourself work or $$$ to have it done though...

 

[jonesmw10]

I'd give the dealer a call and see what they can do to work with you. If they have a good reputation, they would definitely like to maintain that.

That rust isn't that bad, though. If they don't work with you, most you can do is grind down to bare metal and start painting/POR15'ing or what have you. If it makes you feel better, I saw way worse when I was looking for my Runner. I looked at an 08 with 58k on the clock and the whole underneath was rusted. Couldn't find any black paint from the original coating on the frame.

 

[fdbyrne]

I agree. It's not rotten yet. For $16k I'd have expected better, but you'll be ok. Plan on spending a weekend under there with an angle grinder, wire brush, and some POR15. Treat the inside of the frame with Fluid Film or something similar. Scrap the skid plates and buy some used ones from a salvage yard.

I'll be doing the same this fall when it cools down.

 

[LTDSC]

buyer negligence isnt a dealerships problem. Although if they're good as you say they may work with you a little. But its not terrible and could be covered with POR and probably remedied.

 

[TrdLtly]

You will definitely want to get that stopped. See if the dealer will work with you on getting it cleaned up.

I just bought my T4R also. The previous owners obviously did not believe in undercarriage car washes. The body and wheels were near perfect, but the frame has a lot (by my standards) of surface rust.

I am looking into some of the Eastwood rust treatment products.

 

[rusty06]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm actually feeling much better about this, though you can bet I'll be more careful purchasing my next runner since I really like these trucks.

I'm going to contact my dealer for the hell of it and see what they say. Beyond that I have heard some good things about rust bullet and I think I will spend my two days off cleaning and coating this frame. If anyone has any tips regarding that I'd be happy to hear them.

Thanks again

 

[SKP-4R]

Looks like it was submerged in the Salton sea

 

[TrdLtly]

Looks like it was submerged in the Salton sea

Exactly. I just don't understand why people don't spend the extra time/money to get the undercarriage washed in the winter time if you live in an area that uses salt.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Fellow MA resident here, and I have dealt with crap loads of rust on my 3rd gen. I can't say much about the price because I don't know about 4th gens, but the only way you could have legal recourse is if you could get a mechanic to fail it for inspection, which would mean some of the frame bits would have to be rusted most of the way through, which I doubt any of that is. MA does have a lemon law, so you have I think 30 days to get it inspected during which you can return it. You might look into the law either way, maybe you don't HAVE to fail an inspection to return it under the lemon law, you might be able to do it for lesser issues that they didn't tell you about.

As far as advice, if you have a compressor, then I highly suggest getting a needle scaler (HF has a couple for cheap). It is 10x better than anything else for chipping rust off and can get into every nook and cranny that an angle grinder or wire brush can't. I would even consider buying a compressor and scaler just for this if it's a big job and you'd use the compressor later.

After that, I'm not sure. You can read about the different rust treatments; I used POR15, but I don't feel like it worked very well. It may be great if applied under perfect conditions and done perfectly, but I guess I have never been able to get it to work as well as people say it should and i have always followed the instructions very carefully.

Other than that, I'd just say good luck. Definitely take care of it as best you can now, and buy a pass to a carwash place and wash it several times a week during the winter. That will probably be the next best piece of advice in terms of making this thing survive the NE salt season in the long term.

 

[ThorInc]

Pure neglect and no bottom washing ever it seems. My T4R is a 1997 and nothing that bad AND I am in Ontario, Canada. I would go directly past the dealer to Toyota head office and have them have the dealer contact you. It's your 16 gs, work hard to make it worth your while.

 

[Darrie]

This above is the best advice. Short of the dealer fixing the issue ( and they wont do it properly for sure), this is the neatest rapid cleanup of under chassis that I know of that you can do at home.

But ...For your sanity I'd clean it up and trade it in/move it on straight away - otherwise every time you touch something you will find seizures or failed components. Its what you can't see that will annoy you like failing brake bits, sway bar mount bolts, lower radiator bolts, the internals of the chassis, even wiper blades components that have been hit by salt spray etc. Salvaging something that has had a dose of salt involves complete disassembly if you want to keep it for the long term and you really don't want to go there.

Here's the unit I use for cleanup work. Connect to a compressor, fill with blasting grit, wear goggles and a cheap painters spray suit & car up on racks & away you go.

 

[vr4z06gt]

Hi everyone,
New member here. I recently purchased an '06 4th gen SR5 with 83k on the ODo. I made the grave and unbelievably stupid mistake of not taking a look at the undercarriage during my purchase. I bought from a large and well respected Toyota dealer in my area, and the used car guy was talking a big game about how anything they think will have major issues goes straight to auction and they don't try to pawn it off on customers, etc, etc and gave me a list of the repairs they did. I picked the truck up 2 days later and took a look underneath it. There was A LOT of surface rust with significant flaking in the welds and other areas.

Album: Toyota 4Runner Forum - Largest 4Runner Forum - rusty06's Album: 06 SR5


Basically I'm wondering three things.

1. Did I get completely ripped off?

2. How serious or abnormal is the rust for the northeast region. Is this just surface rust or is it beginning to rot? I used to own an 09 tacoma with 120k on it and frame wear was not nearly this bad.

3. Should I contact the dealer and try to get some type of reimbursement? I bought the truck one week ago, and am past any money back guarantee. I want to know if this is serious enough to complain or if I'll likely just have to deal with this and coat it with POR15 or rust bullet or something.

I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who will say if this was them they'd be in the dealer demanding their money back yesterday. I like this truck, and I like the way it drives. I know I probably paid too much. I'm just wondering if I should realistically be making a big stink about this to the salesman and what's likely to be done if I do.

Thanks for the help.

Find an inspection station that will fail the frame for rust...(for some reason I cannot see the pictures so I am assuming that it is pretty bad). Under Mass lemon law everyone (dealer and private party) must obey the lemon law (this applies to all vehicles regardless of year, mileage, or price). If it cannot pass inspection, and repair will cost more than 10% of the purchase price the seller must take it back. You only have 1 week from date of delivery to exercise this option however. A frame is without a doubt a saftey related item. Lemon Aid Law

 

[CookieRoe]

bargaining chip??

I mentioned this in a similar thread.

https://www.autorust.com/about/

Don't know what they would charge and they seem to be near to you. I would give them a call just for information. Maybe you can have the dealer pay for it instead of going through all the crap (lawyers).

 

[1950884]

I'd give the dealer a call and see what they can do to work with you. If they have a good reputation, they would definitely like to maintain that.

...

Based on my experience over the last few weeks I agree with the above comment. I bought a 2006 from a Toyota dealer with a cylinder miss-fire. The dealership told me it was a coil. I purchased it with this understanding. After all, they are the professionals. A few days later I tested and confirmed it was a leaky head gasket. They worked with me. They offered to "unwind the deal" or provide monetary support on the repair. I bought the vehicle because I wanted it so I opted for the repair.

I educated myself on lemon laws etc to help form on opinion on what was fair. My state doesn't have safety inspections, but if yours does I'd work that angle too. Good luck.

 

[Park]

This is one of those cases of buyer beware. Many dealerships are more concerned with profit than disclosing potential problems on a vehicle. When I worked at a Chevrolet dealership, I witnessed this first hand. Often times the pre owned inspections we had were a joke. I remember one instance where we had a GMC Yukon sold to us from up north. The truck was only a few years old but the frame was already showing some serious rust. Instead of stripping the old paint off, our manager told us to coat over it with this GM grease chassis coating. Effectively hiding the rust from view.

Bottom line. When your buying a used vehicle, poke around a bit. Get your hand dirty and drive it thoroughly on a test drive.

 

[ddnww]

BUYER BEWARE comes to mind